Packaging manufacturers and end-users that are committed to minimizing their environmental footprint have long assumed that recycling is the best option for reducing energy consumption, preventing old-growth tree deforestation, and lowering greenhouse gas emissions. However, as the packaging and paper products industry evolves, we are discovering that recycling is not nearly as sustainable as originally thought. In fact, the process of producing packaging products from recycled materials – including delivery to mills, re-conversion to pulp, de-inking, and redistribution – is not the greenest approach.
Innovation and research and development in forestry have revealed that virgin fiber which is sustainably sourced from rapidly-renewable tree plantations – known as rapidly-renewable fiber (RRF) – is actually a healthier choice for the environment than recycling.